Sunday, June 19, 2011

Remember That Novel Thing I Was Supposed to Be Writing? (And Other Thoughts)

I've decided to declare blogging bankruptcy. There's just too much going forward to tell you about. So I won't be writing all those blog posts where my navel is contemplated in full detail, complete with pictures. I know I promised, but considering what surrounds my navel now that I'm in my mid forties, you'll likely thank me for sparing you.

How about I just give you the short details and we move forward?

Big Item One: I finished my book. It took quitting a blogging gig, abandoning my friends, and giving up almost everything I used to consider fun to get to that point, but I did it despite Depression. Despite ADHD. Despite Netflix.

I found that focusing in on finishing my book required doing one thing at a time, so I raised kids and I wrote. I didn't do much else. I didn't blog much, and even my Twitter usage took a hit. I cut back on everything because I was determined to finish the first draft before Writers and Illustrators for Young Readers. Ask my friends who have been shocked at how boring I have become. If my wife didn't force me to hang out with them on Saturday nights, I'd likely never have seen them at all.

Big Item Two: I finished my book. It is such a big deal, I needed to list it twice.

Big Item Four:You can accomplish anything you set your mind to. Don't let disability, ADHD, Depression, or even Halitosis, get in the way of you accomplishing what you want to. Pick one goal as I did, then plug away at it, even if in microscopic increments. Don't be afraid to change your life to meet your goals. Don't be afraid to analyze yourself and experiment with new solutions. If you start reading my blog in January of last year to now, you'll see that I've been almost merciless in my quest to figure out what is wrong with me and how to fix it.

However, don't be ashamed of your limitations. Instead, identify them and then learn to work around them. That's the only way I was able to finish my book. I learned so much about myself this past year. It was worth every moment, even with all the false starts and mistakes.

And that's all I'm going to write today. I see the subscription base has exploded recently, which puzzles me since I did almost everything in my power to wither this blog on the vine while I focused on my novel, but I am thankful for the new readers. I hope you folks find something here worth your time.

Leave comments. I have a thirsting need for feedback. Let me know what you want to hear more of. I will resume my blogging schedule in earnest this week, and I look forward to writing for you.

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